6 Trips Every Couple Should Take Each Year

One of the best parts about travelling is the planning – at least that’s my favorite part, and a large part of why I launched my travel planning services. I love diving into every detail and making decisions on where to go and when, where to stay, and what to do. Google Maps is my personal sidekick and where I spend about 60% of my time on a normal day – finding new restaurants, epic playgrounds (how the times have changed!), and spots that locals actually frequent.

You know what else planners love? Checklists. It’s great to have a checklist when planning, from everything you need to do for a wedding to what to pack for a trip to Thailand in the summer to what documents you need to take with you on an international trip. Checklists are essential for having things in order and for getting everything done without the constant worry of “did I already do that?” or “did I forget something?”. Today, though, I bring to you a different type of checklist. Instead of a checklist of what to bring on your trip or what photos to take on your trip, this is a checklist of which trips to plan in the first place. This is not a bucket list of the best destinations around the world, but rather the best kinds of trips to take each year.

6 Trips Every Couple Should Take Every Year

We are sure there are other couples out there who have a different view of things, but this is our list of six trips every couple should take each year, and it applies to couples who travel for a living as well as couples who do not. It can also be adapted to couples who travel with children or who want to travel alone (I’ve added a family travel tip for each type of travel below!). These trips help keep the spark alive, keep your relationship growing, and also keep you in touch with all of the other important people in your life. Prepare yourself – this will leave you wanting to research your next trip immediately.

1. City Break

A city break is never a holiday so much as it is a fast-paced adventure – one full of history, culture, and fun. There’s no better way to immerse yourself in a new country rapidly than to visit a bustling city. Even the things that almost all cities have in common – a main square, a viewpoint from the tallest building, a crowded shopping street, etc. – are slightly different in each place. City breaks are great when you have a short amount of time because they are often easier and cheaper to get to (usually close to a main airport), you can find lots of information and pre-existing itineraries on them, and there are organised systems for cramming everything in (public transport, guided tours, etc.).

Some of our favourite city breaks have been 24 hours in Bratislava, a birthday weekend in Amsterdam, and a wine-heavy long weekend in Florence. If you’re based in the UK or Europe and looking for something different for your next weekend getaway, you could also consider a hidden town in Europe.

Couples Travel Tip: To make the trip extra romantic and special, dress up for a night out and attend an evening exhibition or show (we loved this Mozart concert in Salzburg) followed by restaurant recommended by locals. End the night by picking up a bottle of wine at a local shop (bonus if it’s a wine from that area!) and enjoying it together back in your accommodation.

Family Travel Tip: Extend your weekend! While two (or sometimes even one) nights felt like plenty when traveling as a couple, I find a need a bit more time to make it feel worthwhile when traveling with kids. We recommend a 3 night weekend trip (Thursday-Sunday or Friday-Monday) so you can travel at a slightly slower pace and still reap the benefits of a city break.

2. Local Getaway

Local getaways are brilliant because they allow you to escape your everyday life without putting in too much effort. My idea of a local getaway is anything within two hours of travel time, but this can vary for everyone.

For the perfect local getaway, aim for a different environment from your day to day – if you’re in the city, give the countryside a try; if you’re in the country, maybe head toward the water or the mountains for a change of scenery. It’s a great way to explore something nearby to you that you may not know even exists right now! These can also be more budget friendly – you don’t need to pay for flights and deal with the stress of the airport. And, if you are a dog owner, you can find a pet-friendly hotel and cut out the cost of a dog sitter, too!

Couples Travel Tip: This is a great trip for birthdays or special events that you do not have time to truly get away for. Leave your laptop at home – unplug, unwind, and enjoy each other’s company. My dream local getaway is staying at a luxury hotel in the countryside, going for morning walks, and splitting a bottle of wine by the fire in the evening.

Family Travel Tip: Consider holiday parks and luxury glamping sites for your local getaway. With many offering kids activities on site, this is a great opportunity for the full family to unwind. Or, if you’re willing to splurge, look for a country hotel with a kids club. We love the Four Seasons Hampshire and Gleneagles for UK getaways!

Need help planning your next weekend getaway, whether local or abroad?

Check out my travel planning services to learn how I can help! From sourcing hotels to building full itineraries, Wunderkin Travel is your go-to resource for travel planning and booking.

3. The Actual Vacation

For us, a true vacation can be defined as a longer getaway (5+ days) which consists of essentially doing nothing. Oftentimes, this involves warmer weather and a resort we don’t actually need to leave if we don’t want to. Ou recent family-friendly stay at The Ritz-Carlton Abama is a fantastic example of this.

Couples Travel Tip: Go for an all-inclusive and eliminate all potential stress. You won’t even have to worry about waiting for the bill at dinner, how much that third martini is going to cost you, or arranging taxis to get anywhere. Our honeymoon trip to Kandolhu in the Maldives was probably the most relaxing ten days we’ve ever experienced.

Family Travel Tip: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it’s worth spending more for accommodation with a kids club or other childcare options. Watching my toddler run around the beach I grew up visiting melts my heart, but traveling with children is exhausting. In order to truly relax, you need at least a bit of you time! Some well known brands for this are Ritz-Carlton, Ikos, and Luxury Family Hotels (UK).

4. A Trip with Extended Family

Once you move away from home, family vacations are a great opportunity to get everyone together, catch up, reminisce on your childhood, and let loose with your loved ones! I love that Sean and I have the opportunity to travel with his parents so much, and we try to make an effort to do a trip with my brother & his family every once in awhile, too.

If your trip with family is really just a trip to family during the holidays, follow these tips for a stress-free visit with your family to ensure you have the best experience possible.

Couples Travel Tip: Find something that everyone is interested in and go do that – it will eliminate the sour attitudes and planning drama. My brother, his wife, Sean, and I all love wine tasting. With Sean’s family, we are normally travelling for football or skiing. If you need a little romance, plan one night or a certain activity away from the family; but remember, this is a family vacation!

Family Travel Tip: These trips get even more fun once there are cousins in the family! Take turns watching the kids so each couple can get out for a date night. During the day, watch your kids make the best of memories with their cousins.

5. A Trip without Each Other

This is for when the friends trip finally makes it out of the group chat! Going on a trip without each other will help you appreciate the trips you take with each other so much more, and will also allow you to do some things you wouldn’t normally do together. My girls’ trip to Barcelona and Sean’s guys’ trip to Barbados were definitely different from our usual couples travel, but we both had a blast and we always talk about how we would like to take the other there for a different experience.

I most recently reunited with my high school friends in Croatia for a child-free week of sun and it was so good for the soul. Next up, a birthday trip to San Sebastián with my closest girlfriends.

Couples Travel Tip: Don’t use data roaming when you are spending time with your friends (or solo if you want to do a solo trip). You’ll miss your significant other, but you can catch up in the evening or when you are at a cafe. Chatting constantly kind of defeats the purpose of a trip away from each other! Also, don’t be afraid to share how much fun you are having; your s/o will not be upset that you’re having a blast in the sun while they’re stuck in rainy London – they’ll be so happy that you’re enjoying your time and will love hearing about it (and, if they’re anything like me, using it as leverage for a trip of their own).

Family Travel Tip: Take turns taking your child(ren) on one-on-one adventures. This is a great opportunity for bonding and to focus on your child’s interests. That being said, I also think that a solo (or with friends) trip is more important than ever after you have children. Even if it’s just one night away, every parent deserves a break from time to time.

6. A trip down memory lane

What is one of your favourite memories together? Is it a restaurant you went to in your hometown, a day trip you took somewhere nearby, a picnic on the beach when you were on holiday? Do it again! It doesn’t have to be the exact same, but doing something that meant so much to you the first time each year is a special tradition that only you two will have. You can laugh about the previous times you did it, or failed attempts to do so, and enjoy each other’s company.

This trip may be a return to a favorite destination or it could be an experience you do at home. For us, it’s simple – we love having a “fancy” picnic, either at home or on holiday. Our first was a date in St. James’ Park in London and the next was a last minute picnic in Milan. The third year, Sean proposed during a picnic he setup in our living room (rain came and he had to adjust). Now, we love to shop local and pick up some goodies and a bottle of wine before finding a spot to enjoy it – whether that’s a park or (when restricted by baby bedtimes) our accommodation’s garden/balcony.

Couples Travel Tip: Tiny details make all the difference. Try to incorporate something from your first memory into each year’s event – whether that is a type of food, a certain playlist, or even staying in the same hotel each year. Those details are a special part of your lives together, so don’t be afraid to celebrate them!

Family Travel Tip: Introducing your children to your favorite memories and traditions is such a special thing and can be a more affordable way to create incredible memories. For me, this is taking my children to the beach I grew up going to, incorporating some of my favorite things to do there but also allowing them to create new traditions for our family.

Bonus Trip Idea: Extend a Business Trip

Bring business travel + leisure travel together by extending your business trip for a few days. Apparently this is a hot trend called “bleisure” but I have been doing it for years without a fancy name attached. This is one of my favorite ways to explore a new city or book in a little ‘me’ time. If your business trip borders a weekend, it’s easy to add on a few days. Alternatively, play around with arrival and departure times to see if you can build in some time to explore outside of your work obligations.

It’s fun to keep this list in mind when planning a trip, and see exactly what each adventure ticks off the list. I keep a similar list in my Notes app for inspiration as I’m planning out our trips for the year.

So…which one will you plan first?

Let us know in the comments below!